Jerry hates dogs. When he was young a dog attacked him and bit him 12 times. Now as an adult he lives on a spectacular lake. Bad dogs have been disappearing all around the lake. Everybody knows Jerry is doing it, but hey, these are bad dogs.
One fine day a dog gets loose and bites a young girl. Yep, within 5 hours the dog has met his maker. But one thing Jerry does not know. The dog is owned by Vito Corleone, the Godfather. But hey, Jerry is friends with Vito. They go back a long way.
That night Vito knocks on Jerry’s door. Jerry my friend, how are you.”
“I am okay.”
“Jerry, there was an incident with my dog and I know you did it.”
Jerry, thinking rapidly, realizes that this would be a bad time to lie. “Yeah, I did not know it was your dog. What can I do to make it up to you.”
“Jerry, we have been friends a long time. I loved my dog, but I love you also. You are going to have to leave the lake.”
“I can’t leave, I love it here.”
“Mmmmmm… Jerry, I forgive you for what you have done, but if you don’t leave the lake there will be a stifling in 3 days.”
Jerry knew what that meant. In this family a stifling always included bullets. Jerry nodded in agreement, “Don’t you worry, I am not going to do anything to harm you or any of your pets ever again.”
Vito smiled, hugged Jerry, and left.
One hour later Jerry’s wife Julia arrived. “I heard what happened,” she said.
“Oh yeah, but that is not going to be a problem.”
“But I heard that we are going to have to leave.”
“Oh no, he forgave me. This is all cleared up.”
She packed her suitcase.
“You don’t need to leave.”
She left. Jerry stayed. The end.
What is the meaning of the parable of the killer?
Sometimes Christians read hard verses. But all their life they have been taught to focus on something else. So… just like Jerry, they focus on something else other than the verses.
Quitting ______ is something that really can happen for people who believe the hard verses and who also focus on them.
This is part two
The Killer article is not perfect. I should have had the “Don” being a lover of dogs with 1000 dogs. Then had him proclaim: “If you kill my dogs and keep killing my dogs you will be ______. Then I should have had Jerry kill a few of his dogs, then ignore the continued warning to not kill his dogs. Then the reckoning.
Second, the point is to increase our fear of the Lord. The Bible encourages us to fear the Lord 134 times. This week consider praying 134 times:
“Father, my goal is to please You because you are the Judge.” The end of this prayer is from Moodymedia.org: “Help me to fear sin, not just because of its consequences, but also because it grieves Your heart. I pray that I might “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” as the Bible says to do.”
Proverbs 1:7 ESV The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Job 28:28 ESV And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’
”Matthew 10:28 ESV And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Proverbs 14:27 ESV The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
The fear of the Lord leads us to turn away from the snares of death. If you want to avoid the snares of death… Pray about fearing the Lord. If you want your existence to be a fountain of life. Study verses about fearing the Lord (Verses, fear of the Lord).
When Biblical David feared the Lord he had a glorious life. A life like a grand overflowing fountain. When he made bad choices, not so much.
What will you do to increase your fear of the Lord?
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